Making Slides

Things you will need:

1. Look through Slide Viewer/Cutter/Mounter, pressing light switch. If dim, replace batteries (need 4 AA batteries).

2. Load film into camera. To do this, pull the rewind button up to open camera. Load film; close camera. Forward film three times.

3. Screw the camera to the round circle on the Camera Stand, facing the camera down (making sure the camera is level).

4. Turn the Camera Stand lights on (switch is on the surge protector/outlet strip).

5. Clean off the surface of the plexiglass using a clean dry cloth.

6. Organize your originals in groups of 12 (to match number of exposures), putting similar sized originals together.

7. Set the shutter speed to "60" (1/60 of a second). The shutter speed knob is the second knob on the left top of the camera (see diagram).

8. Set the F-stop either at 5.6, the click between 5.6 and 8.0, or 8.0 (depending on age of film and quality of original). If film is older and originals are good, use 5.6. In general, 5.6 results in a lighter slide and 8.0 results in a darker slide.

9. Take lens cap off.

10. Put original under the plexiglass.

11. Looking through the camera, adjust the camera stand (the distance between the original and the camera) so the figure fills the view and is centered.

12. Adjust the focus (using the bumpy ring near the F-stop), using the clear circle in the view. Put the clear circle over a word or line and adjust the focus until the word/line is in focus.

13. Advance the film using the lever on the top left (see diagram).

14. Take picture, pushing the shutter button.

15. Remove original.

16. Repeat steps 10-15 as needed, realizing that there are only 12 exposures per roll of film.

17. Put lens cap back on camera.

18. Unscrew camera from Camera Stand.

19. Turn off Camera Stand lights.

20. Rewind film. Flip up lever on the rewind knob. While depressing the little black button on the bottom of the camera, turn rewind lever until film is rewound. If you stop right after you hear a click, you will leave the end of the film roll exposed for each processing (skip Step 22). If you rewind too far, all of the film will go into the roll (use Step 22 to retrieve the end of the roll).

21. Plug in the Film Processor.

22. To extract the end of the film from the roll, remove the film extractor (found on the left side of the Film Processor). Put the slotted end of the extractor into the film roll. Wind the film counter-clockwise, to "hook" the film onto the extractor. Pull the extractor a bit to expose the end of the film. Unhook the extractor. Put the extractor back on the left side of the Film Processor. Continue with Step 23.

23. Remove the Film Processing Pack, found in the box holding the roll of film.

24. Unclip and pull out the black tab.

25. Open the Film Processor by depressing the button (lower right).

26. Open the clear plastic cover found on the right of the Film Processor. Under the clear plastic cover are two small white knobs (one is small and round and the other is larger and more oblong).

27. Insert the Film Processing Pack, clipping the black tab to the small round knob.

28. Insert the film roll, putting the end of the film over both white nkobs (there are holes in the film that fit over the knobs).

29. Make sure that the two switches on the developer (one has a number "12" and the other has numbers 1-4) are set to "12" (for 12 exposures) and 2 (the number of minutes needed for film development. Note: the high contrast B/W film requires 2 minutes development, while the blue/white film some folks use requires more time (the requirement is printed on the Film Processing Pack).

30. Close the clear plastic cover.

31. Close the Film Processor (needs a bit of muscle).

32. Once closed, the Film Processor automatically starts to develop the film. The red light on the front indicates that the processing is in progress. Do not open!

33. When the green light goes on and the Film Processor beeps, the film is ready. Open the Film Processor after the beeping stops.

34. Remove Film Processing Pack. Put it back into the box it arrived in.

35. Open the clear plastic cover.

36. Remove film and close the clear plastic cover.

37. Close Film Processor.

38. Put end of film into the Slide Viewer/Cutter/Mounter from the right, resting the film roll in the indentation.

39. Use the blue roller to forward the film, holding the light switch in with your left hand.

40. Forward the film until you see the first slide. Make sure that you have forwarded the slide until you are half-way through the black divider bar separating slides 1 and 2.

41. Using the cutting slider found directly to the left of the viewer, cut off the film tailpiece (move the slider up or down).

42. Remove the film tailpiece, and insert a Slide Mount. The Slide Mount should be open (open side up), with the larger side inserted into the Slide Viewer/Cutter/Mounter.

43. Advance film until you reach the middle of the next black divider bar.

44. Cut film.

45. Carefully remove mount, with the film inside. Center using thumbs (be careful and ONLY touch the edges).

46. Close the Slide Mount, snapping edges tight. You may need to slightly bend the mount, in order to get all sides latched.

47. Repeat until all slides are mounted.

48. Remove end of film. Put the empty film roll, and the film tailpiece, back into the empty canister. Put canister into the Film box (with the used Film Processing Pack). Tape the box shut and dispose.

University of Wisconsin - Department of Biomolecular Chemistry
First published: 01/01/05 Last updated: 1/18/05 Email Biomolecular Chemistry
Copyright © 2005 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System